APPT Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2023 APPT Cambodia
APPT Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2023 APPT Cambodia
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$623,322
Entries
476
Level
31
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
160,000
Entries
132
Players Left
9
Pamplona and Tsai Lead Nine-Handed Final Table of 2023 APPT Cambodia Main Event
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
The final table is set for the 2023 PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Cambodia $1,500 Main Event is set. Out of a field of 476 entries, only nine players remain to battle for the biggest slice of the $623,322 at the luxurious NagaWorld Integrated Resort in Phnom Penh. The finalists have locked up a min-cash of $10,908 already, while the eventual champion can look forward to a payday of $120,300 and the golden shard trophy.
A trio is separated by just ten big blinds at the top of the leaderboard and Junnie Pamplona leads the way with 3,015,000, closely followed by Ting-Yi "Eric" Tsai (2,960,000) and Jimmy Torres (2,725,000).
Pamplona's far biggest cash prize on the live poker circuit came right here in the grand ballroom of Naga 1 when he was part of a three-way deal in the 2022 WPT Prime $1,100 Main Event, taking home $ 106,482 for the efforts. The last pinoy player in the field can top that payday if scores an outright victory.
Chao-Ting Cheng can be found right in the middle of the pack while there is then a gap to several short stacks, who all still have between 14 and 36 big blinds at their disposal.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Tsai | Taiwan | 2,960,000 | 99 |
| 2 | Evgenii Nekrasov | Russia | 1,080,000 | 36 |
| 3 | Curtis Lim | Singapore | 850,000 | 28 |
| 4 | Bien Mai | Vietnam | 410,000 | 14 |
| 5 | Chao-Ting Cheng | Taiwan | 1,825,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Kien Tat Heng | Singapore | 795,000 | 27 |
| 7 | Junnie Pamplona | Philippines | 3,015,000 | 101 |
| 8 | Hua-Wei Lin | Taiwan | 600,000 | 20 |
| 9 | Jimmy Torres | Colombia | 2,725,000 | 91 |
There are 07:38 minutes left in level 24, which features blinds of 15,000-30,000 and a big blind ante of 30,000. With the blinds moving up almost immediately, short stacks Bien Mai and Hua-Wei Lin will be under immediate pressure while the duo atop the leaderboard has plenty of wiggle room for hours to come.
Second-placed Tsai was building a stack throughout the day and also had a camera crew around to film content for social media and coaching purposes. The same applied for Lin as well with her husband Yu-Chung "Nevan" Chang on the rail, as both are known under the moniker "winpokercouple". Chang himself cashed in 38th place and was the chip leader heading into the final table of this very event in 2022.
The final table is set to resume at 1 p.m. local time on Monday, May 15, 2023 and it will be the second time in APPT history that a Main Event winner is crowned in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Defending champion Alexander Puchalski was knocked out by Torres in 48th place when the Canadian flopped trips jacks only to run into a turned full house by the Colombian.
Day 2 saw 132 survivors of the three starting days return to their seats and the top 71 spots were paid. Notable casualties before the money included Julian Warhurst, Konstantin Generalov, Victor Chong, side event champion Thijs Hilberts, Aladin Reskallah, and Sven McDermott. On the bubble, WSOP bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer couldn't get there with jacks against the queens of Adrien Tantaro, becoming the last player to leave empty-handed.
From there on, the eliminations kept coming at a rapid pace and it didn't take long to reduce the field to the final three tables. Rapid-fire all-in showdowns reduced the field further and among those to depart during a very frantic period was also Ashish Munot. He lost a big pot with ace-queen suited against the ace-king of Philip Tan, while eventual Day 2 chip leader Pamplona was forced to let go of dreadful pocket jacks that would have won.
Tan became a contender for the lead, which changed several times in the final stages. Following the redraw of the final two tables, the field was rapidly cut down to just 11 hopefuls and the action then came to a screeching stop. Ultimately, Singapore's Tan eventually became one of the short stacks to then bubble the final table and conclude Day 2.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the final day to provide as many key hands as possible en route to crowning a winner here in Cambodia.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,300 | ||
| 2 | $75,795 | ||
| 3 | $54,290 | ||
| 4 | $42,760 | ||
| 5 | $33,597 | ||
| 6 | $26,242 | ||
| 7 | $19,759 | ||
| 8 | $13,775 | ||
| 9 | $10,908 |
End-of-Day 2 Chip Counts
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,015,000 | 15,000 |
|
2,960,000 | |
|
2,725,000 | |
|
1,825,000 | -225,000 |
|
1,080,000 | 80,000 |
|
850,000 | 110,000 |
|
795,000 | -5,000 |
|
600,000 | |
|
410,000 | -40,000 |
Philip Tan Eliminated in 10th Place ($9,038)
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Over on table two, Ting-Yi Tsai raised to 60,000 and Hua-Wei Lim jammed for 480,000. The initial raiser asked for a count and folded the A♠10♣.
One table over, Philip Tan then took a stand when he three-bet jammed for 290,000 in the big blind to get called by Jimmy Torres as the initial raiser.
Philip Tan: A♥4♣
Jimmy Torres: 9♠9♦
Tan was alive on the Q♦8♠4♥ flop and 6♥ turn but the 9♣ river only improved Torres to a set, ending Tan's run in 10th place and concluding the action for the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,960,000 | 460,000 |
|
|
2,725,000 | 325,000 |
|
|
600,000 | 40,000 |
|
Busted |
Pamplona Wins Multi-Way Pot
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Jimmy Torres raised to 60,000 and Chao-Ting Cheng three-bet to 185,000 on the button, which Junnie Pamplona in the small blind called, as did Torres. On a A♠Q♣7♣ flop, only Pamplona check-called a bet worth 150,000 by three-bettor Cheng and the K♠ turn was checked.
Following the 4♦ river, Pamplona bet 525,000 and Cheng folded with a very dry smile on the face.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,000,000 | 700,000 |
|
|
2,400,000 | -300,000 |
|
|
2,050,000 | -400,000 |
Torres Back on Track; Lin Gets Shorter
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Jimmy Torres returned to his big bet poker and forced a fold from Junnie Pamplona to earn a decent pot. He then three-bet a raise of Bien Mai from 60,000 to 180,000 and Mai folded.
Mai got a shove through versus Torres' open raise soon after, though.
Ting-Yi Tsai then made it 65,000 to go in the cutoff and Evgenii Nekrasov called on the button. Curtis Lim jammed for 445,000 and won the pot uncontested.
Hua-Wei Lin raised to 60,000 on the button next but another shove by Lim for 620,000 in the small blind shut her down.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,700,000 | 600,000 |
|
|
2,500,000 | -300,000 |
|
|
2,300,000 | -400,000 |
|
|
1,000,000 | -300,000 |
|
|
740,000 | 205,000 |
|
|
560,000 | -140,000 |
|
|
450,000 | -325,000 |
|
|
380,000 | -270,000 |
Nekrasov Chips Up; Lim Survives All-In
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Jimmy Torres chipped back up without showdown while table two provided more action.
Evgenii Nekrasov raised the button to earn calls from Hua-Wei Lin in the small blind and Kien Tat Heng in the big blind.
The 10♣10♠9♠ flop saw Heng with a bet of 75,000 and he received two calls.
Following the 7♥ turn, it checked to Nekrasov and he bet 150,000. Lin quickly folded while Heng stuck around. Both then checked the K♥ river and Heng tabled his A♠7♣, which Nekrasov had beat with the Q♦Q♠.
One hand later, Curtis Lim was all-in for the last 180,000 and looked up by Heng.
Curtis Lim: A♠10♥
Kien Tat Heng: J♦4♦
The ace secured the double on a Q♥5♠5♥A♣5♦ runout.
Lin opened to 60,000 thereafter on the button and Lim jammed for 400,000 to force folds all around.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,100,000 | 400,000 |
|
|
1,300,000 | 450,000 |
|
|
1,100,000 | -475,000 |
|
|
700,000 | -500,000 |
|
|
535,000 | -15,000 |
Heng's Broadway Gets Paid Off
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Evgenii Nekrasov checked the K♣J♠8♠ flop to call a bet by Kien Tat Heng, which led them to the A♣ turn. Nekrasov check-called another bet worth 110,000 and checked the 9♦ on the river.
Heng now bet 275,000 and received the call he was looking for, as he tabled the Q♠10♠ for broadway to scoop the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,575,000 | 75,000 |
|
|
850,000 | -450,000 |
Cheng Becomes Contender for the Lead
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Ting-Yi Tsai won a showdown pot on table two to chip up slightly while table one brought a multi-way pot preflop in which Jimmy Torres and Chao-Ting Cheng went to the 5♠3♠2♠K♦8♣ river.
Torres checked and instantly called Cheng's bet of 700,000 to get shown 6♣4♦ for the flopped nuts by Cheng, who was the shortest stack on the table not long ago. After paying off the bet, Torres flashed his 3♣3♦ for a set of treys.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,800,000 | 500,000 |
|
|
2,450,000 | 1,300,000 |
|
|
1,700,000 | -1,400,000 |
Nekrasov Doubles Through Tsai
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
The all-in triangle was in front of Ting-Yi Tsai on the button and Evgenii Nekrasov committed his last 580,000 out of the small blind for the first all-in showdown on the final table bubble.
Evgenii Nekrasov: Q♦Q♠
Ting-Yi Tsai: 2♠2♥
The dominated pair caught no equity on a board of 7♦7♥6♣6♥3♥ and Nekrasov stopped his downfall to double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,300,000 | -100,000 |
|
|
1,300,000 | 800,000 |